Question,Closed Loop with Sequence Dart pump

[cruzer]

Question for the plumbing guru's. I'm setting up a 140 gal. tank. It will be acro/sps dominated. My 70 gal is way over crowded. Anyways, the tank is drilled in 5 places for a closed loop. 4 1" returns and 1 1" outlet to pump. The problem lie's with the outlet to the pump. A 1" outlet to the pump is not enough, this I'm sure of. Unfortunately the tank builder said it would be enough to supply a Sequence Dart pump. After further research I have found this not to be true. So now what? I obviously want to get as much GPH as possibe out of the pump to avoid having to have to many powerheads. Do I redrill the tank for a 2" bulkhead which would require a 3" hole. Do I plumb it with a 2" overflow that goes over the back of the tank? Which would then leave me with 5 1" returns going to the tank? If so how would I get the 2" overflow started to feed the pump? It would have to be dependable so as not to starve the pump for water and worst case burn the pump up. I'm open to suggestions and all input will be much appreciated. I want to know where I'm going before I get there so I don't have to turn around and go back to where I started.

Thanks,
Robert (cruzer)

 

[cruzer]

anybody out there

 

[bdare]

What size is the inlet on the pump? If the inlet is 1" you could just drill another 1" hole and have the two meet with a T.

 

[georgeorndorff]

Robert,
all you need to do is prime the pump. that the top of your over flow pipe place a tee fitting with one side stick up. in that end you place a reducer that is threaded inside, and get a threaded plug to close it off. To prime you remove the plug pour water in to the over flow pipe , when the pipe is fulll install the plug and the pump is primed. I just did the same thing. If you want give me a call 817-455-2213...George

 

[Laser]

To make the setup as neat as possible I would just go ahead and redrill one of the holes for a 2" bulkhead and use the other 4 one inch holes or flow as the tank was originally designed for. I assume the tank is acrylic..

 

[bdare]

@Reefer madness wrote:

Very true... to keep it clean you could make the hole bigger. All you need is the required size pluming running to the pump.

When I installed my closed loop I was worried about 1100 gph flowing through a 1" intake. I just installed a 1.5" bulkhead and put a reducer bushing immediately after in the Elbow running away from the bulkhead. Worked perfectly for me. I can BARELY feel the suction around the screen.

 

[cruzer]

@Reefer madness wrote:

Tank is glass. The bottom panel is 3/4". Trying to see if the builder can just drill one of the existing holes out for a 2" bulkhead. That way I can plumb it as origanlly planned. The sump, skimmer and pumps will be in a large closet directly behind the tank. Tank is in living room and filtration will be in another room. There will be nothing underneath in the tank stand other than the plumbing which will go through the wall behind the tank. If I can't get the builder to do it I may just do it myself. I'll build a drill fixture as a guide and get me a 3" diamond hole saw and do it myself. I really don't want a 2" pc of pvc in the tank or hanging over the back. Trying to keep it as clean looking as possible.

 

[THATreefguy]

your 1" drain into your pump is enough for the dart pump. to return it to the tank, use a "T" and split the returns. Simply plug the other holes. Use a few ball valves and unions to be able to remove the pump for servicing. You can close the valves slightly on the returns, but be sure you dont restrict the drain into the pump. good luck!

 

[cruzer]

@THATreefguy wrote:

I used the head calculator on RC and it came up with a max gph of 796 gph. Thats a pretty big head loss from a pump capable of pumping 3600 gph @ 0 head. I'm going to go ahead and drill the tank for a 2" bulkhead and possibly the 4 returns for 1 1/2 bulkheads. I want as much as possible from the pump. According to the calculator if I do this I will get 2500+ gph. Looking for as much flow as I can get. I talked to Deep Sea Aquatics (they built the tank) and they said if they drill the tank they wouldn't be responsible if they cracked it although it hasn't been a problem in the past. I ordered a diamond core bit set and when it gets here I'm going to do it myself. The bottom is 3/4" thick and not tempered according to DSA. They said they don't temper their glass just for this reason. Told me to drill from both sides so as not to have any chipping problems. You have to let the diamond bit do the work and not apply to much pressure. Use plenty of water to keep the tooling cool. Going to make a drill fixture as a guide out of a piece of hardwood lay it out and do it. I'm a machinist by trade so laying it out won't be a problem. Just take my time with it and it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[melev]

1" is not large enough to go into a Sequence Dart with a 1.5" hole. You'll starve the pump, and this causes cavitation. 1.5" or 2" going into the pump is what you want.

We just drilled Matt's tank, and what we did to keep the drill area wet was cut a styrofoam cup in half. The top section was placed on the area like a collar or vase. Plumbers Putty was used to seal the connection. We filled it with some water, and drilled. The water stayed in place for the 2 minutes it took. Drilling from both sides is even better.